Collecting oceanography data from ferries

Monitoring of coastal waters and shelf seas is normally carried out by research vessels on sampling cruises. Automatic systems on buoys are also used and these allow routine measurement of standard oceanographic parameters such as temperature, salinity, currents, and in some cases turbidity, oxygen, and chlorophyll fluorescence.

Unfortunately both methods only sample limited areas, are expensive to operate, and automatic systems in particular are very susceptible to fouling by marine organisms.

The FerryBox system can be remotely operated by mobile phone.

Alernatives
A cheap and reliable alternative is to use ferries and other "ships of opportunity" to carry the measuring instruments on their regular routes. Standardised onboard measuring systems on such carriers have several advantages:

1) The measuring system can be protected against waves, etc.;
2) Biofouling can be more easily prevented (inline sensors); and
3) Most importantly, the running costs are reduced.

Within the GOOS (Global Ocean Observing System) and EuroGOOS Framework we have started initiatives to develop automatic measuring systems for bio-oceanographic parameters.

German FerryBox project
The German "FerryBox" consists of a fully automated flow-through system with different sensors and automatic analysers (see Figure 1). For reliable unmanned operation the system is supervised by a computerised control system which can not only shut itself off in case of very severe errors but can also operate automatic cleaning cycles, for example when the ship is in harbour.

What it records

At the moment the FerryBox has sensors/analysers for the following parameters:

water temperature, salinity(precision), turbidity, oxygen, pH, chlorophyll fluorescence, nutrients (ammonium, nitrate/nitrite, phosphate, silicate), main algal classes (special analyser to discriminate between different algal classes based on different fluorescence patterns). Data acquisition, storage, and telemetry are coordinated by a high-powered PC.

Data can be transferred to shore and the system can be remotely operated by GSM (mobile phone). Biofouling is prevented by pressure cleaning of the sensors with acidified tap water or under severe conditions (tropics) by chlorination. An obvious problem with any system that relies on water flowing through an inlet in a ship is what happens if it gets blocked with debris. This problem is overcome by the ingenious control system on the FerryBox. As soon as it registers a drop in water flow rate it immediately initiates a pressure back-flushing cycle, which clears the blocked inlet.

"The project will give us the opportunity to compare different systems and different types of seas"

EU-Project FerryBox
A new EU-funded FerryBox project has recently started, where the system will be used on routes along European coasts in waters of different character. Currently, ferries with automatic equipment are operated in the Baltic by the FIMR (Finnish Institute of Marine Research), in the North Sea by the GKSS Institute for Coastal Research (Germany), in the Dutch Wadden Sea by the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) at Texel, between Southampton and the Isle of Wight in the English Channel by the Southampton Oceanographic Centre, between Oslo and Kiel by the University of Kiel, and between Oslo and Hirtshals by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA).

In the EU-funded project FerryBoxes will be put on ferries in the Mediterranean Sea between Athens and Crete (National Centre for Marine Research, Athens), in the Irish Sea (Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory with the UK Environment Agency), and in the Bay of Biscay (Southampton Oceanographic Centre and Spanish Institute for Oceanography); see map.

The project will give us the opportunity to compare different systems and different types of seas (enclosed, coastal, shelf, oceanic, oligotrophic, eutrophic). It will also provide data that will allow us to calibrate and check our existing oceanographical models for these sea areas.

Finally, but most importantly, the project will provide cost-effective monitoring and so deliver background data for the European Water Framework Directive.

For further information about the FerryBox project please try the following:
http://coast.gkss.de/projects/ferrybox/ferrypages/ferrywelc.html
http://www.soc.soton.ac.uk/ops/ferrybox_index.php

Alternatively please contact the authors:
Franciscus Colijn or Wilhelm Petersen
GKSS Research Centre
Institute for Coastal Research,
Max-Planck-Str. 1
21502 Geesthacht
Germany

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